Baseline, New Manifold, New RockersIt took a little bit longer than we'd expected, but Danger Mouse (DM) is officially open for business. If you're not familiar with this engine project, here's some background: Last year we introduced the idea of building a test engine and taking suggestions from our readers as to what they would like to see tested. The initial response was good but tapered off quickly as we had to push DM to the back burner and tackle other projects first. This year, we vowed to make DM a reality. Last month, we showed you the short-block buildup, highlighting the strong bottom end components from Lunati and World Products, and this month we'll finish it off with the top-end assembly and the first round of dyno bashing. This has quickly become one of the coolest engine projects we've ever done. Not only will DM now be able to provide SUPER CHEVY readers with their very own dyno engine, but it's already surpassed our initial power expectations on its very first outing!

3/19

We wanted to begin testing with a set of factory cast-iron heads. But we didn't want to handicap Danger Mouse with them, so we ordered a set of rebuilt 461 "camel humps" from Powerhouse Engine Components.

When we took DM over to the Westech Performance Group for its initial flogging on their SuperFlow 901 dyno, we anticipated a rather dull day. That's because, at the time, DM was only equipped with a donated cast-iron, spread-bore intake manifold from the students in Burbank High School's auto shop class, and a set of stock cast-iron GM heads, commonly referred to as "Camel Humps" (casting No. 461). Powerhouse Engine Components rebuilt the heads for us using replacement stainless steel (1.94/1.50) valves and high-performance single-coil valve springs with a damper. Powerhouse also machined the heads for screw-in rocker arm studs and installed pushrod guideplates but did no porting or polishing. Even with a cam that most would consider too small to really make some power, this engine still cranked out over 300 hp in its most basic form.

After some basic ignition advance adjustments, no other changes were required to make this little mule kick. The Carb Shop Q-Jet worked fantastic right out of the box and only required a metering rod adjustment to lean it out slightly after we installed the Weiand intake manifold and the motor started pulling a little more air. Danger Mouse worked so well, in fact, that even the dyno operators at Westech were impressed with how much power it made in stock form. Three hundred ponies from a stock-headed Mouse with a factory intake is something to admire. It's the result of a good engine blueprint and the selection of the right cam for the application. Soon, we'll try some other cams to see just how big we can go before the stock heads become a limiting factor. Then we'll swap heads and go for the gusto. If you can think of anything you'd like to see tested on Danger Mouse, feel free to write us a letter or email it to the address listed above. Remember, this is your test engine and we want to hear your ideas, otherwise we'll be left to come up with our own and that would hardly be any fun.

19/19

Dyno TestsThe first test we ran on Danger Mouse was to establish a baseline that any future tests could be compared to. Test 1 represents what a typical small-block 350 would make if it had just been blueprinted but still had most of its stock components. Test 2 represents what that same small-block would do with a performance dual-plane intake manifold, which, in this case, was a Weiand PN 8004. For Test 3 we removed the stock stamped-steel rocker arms and installed a set of Comp Cams 1.5:1 roller-tip Magnum rockers, which were worth some more power. In the final test we retarded the cam 2 degrees and picked up a little more peak horsepower. Except for the changes listed, nothing else was touched.

Dyno Testing Note:Due to the way a carburetor meters and the way a dyno loads an engine for a test, there is a small drop in power at the beginning of each test. This drop in power is not indicative of how the engine would run in the car because it can continue to accelerate from the moment you hit the gas; for a dyno test we hit the gas wide open, then the dyno pulls the engine down to the preset start rpm and begins the test. This causes the carburetor to lose its signal temporarily at lower rpm due to the high load on the engine. Once the engine accelerates past that point, the carb begins to meter fuel correctly and the engine runs normally. So pay little attention to the dip in power around 2,800 rpm and give more attention to the power from 3,000 to 5,000 rpm.

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